Just Kids
by annierocket
Summary: Its the summer after graduation. Sam makes a bucketlist of things to do before they go their seperate ways and head off to college, but what happens when Carly leaves to spend the summer with her dad and Sam is left with only Freddie to do her list with? Eventual seddie.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! I'm back, and I brought a new story with me! Don't worry, I'm not done with I and Love and You (I know, it's been forever since I've updated) Just needed a change of pace. I hope you like this new story, and make sure to check out all of the new stories posted today-there are a lot of really good ones by some really amazing authors!**

**I don't own anything.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Carls!" Sam Puckett hollered out as she let herself into the Shay siblings apartment. It was the first official day of summer vacation-and it was the last one that Sam knew she would be able to devote only to fun. In just a few months she, along with her friends, would begin college and from there, who knew what would happen? Although she hadn't said it out loud, deep down she knew there was no possible way she could get away with not working once the summer came to an end. And that was exactly why she had decided to create the list, a bucket list of everything she wanted to do that summer.

It had started as a joke between Sam and Carly, saying that the end of summer was the end of an era. They had kid around about having a funeral for their childhood, burying old iCarly memorabilia, Girly Cow dvds and Cuddle Fish posters. And although Carly hadn't taken it seriously, Sam couldn't stop thinking about it. She knew it was true. This whole college thing had felt like a death march to her since the day she got her acceptance letter to the University of Seattle. In all honesty, she hadn't been expecting to get in. The only reason she had even applied was because Carly wouldn't shut up about it and Freddie kept giving her patronizing looks, as if he already knew she wouldn't get in and nothing would become of her.

But she did get in, and she did fill out the registration papers and she had already gotten her schedule and her room assignments for the following year. It was really going to happen. Thrilling that she was actually going to go, she was actually going to have a chance, a chance no Puckett before her had been given, to really make something of herself. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little afraid. Afraid she'd mess up, afraid she wouldn't fit in, afraid she'd fail, afraid everything would be too different… She was afraid to grow up. As much as she had always hated high school, she wanted nothing more but to be going back for another year. To have another year just like the last one.

It hadn't been perfect, not by any means. Her friendship with Freddie was distant after dating the year prior, Spencer had been offered a job in California and had been this-close to actually taking it and moving him and Carly away. Her mom had gotten engaged twice, ran away to Vegas three times and had disappeared for half the winter with a guy named Carl from Oregon. But still, there had been a lot of good times and great memories. Memories she wasn't quite ready to let go of, so she hoped she wouldn't have to.

They had filmed the last episode of iCarly the night before, and as Sam crept into the living room and belted out Carly's name one more time, a flash of nostalgia hit her. She wondered how many more times would there be like this? She had let herself into this apartment and called out for Carly more times that she could even remember. It was the little things like that she knew she would miss.

"Hey." Carly said from the staircase, one hand on her hip and the other wiping sweat off her forehead as she breathed heavily.

"Wow, what's with the sweatiness?" Sam asked, helping herself to a handful of pretzels from the counter, "You on one of those health kicks again?"

"No, I was actually just…" Carly trailed off, swallowing hard as she made her way down the stairs and to the couch, "lifting some things."

"Oh, okay?"

"Yeah." Carly squeaked out, an anxiousness was setting into her dark eyes. she could feel it creeping all of her face but only hoped Sam wouldn't notice.

Sam stuffed her mouth full of pretzels again and pulled a piece of folded notebook paper from her back pocket, "Here, I finished it." She said, unfolding it and turning it towards Carly, "Behold, Carly Shay, our summer bucket list!"

"Summer… bucket… list?" Carly could barely get the words out of her mouth. She looked to Sam, so eager and happy, and felt an immense knot of guilt anchor itself to her insides. They had been talking about this summer all year, making plans for all the fun things they would do. It was what got them through the long winter, Ms. Briggs lectures, and the blow that in a few months they would be taking huge steps in different directions.

They had this one last summer to just be young, to just be Carly and Sam. After this… things would change. They'd be in college, they'd have jobs and boyfriends. They'd get married and have kids; although those things seemed far away, were they really? High school had come and gone in the blink of an eye. An era was ending and this summer was the last hurrah. It was to celebrate everything they had done and everything they would do, but also to cling to what was now and may never be again.

"Yeah, you know how we joked around about it? Well, I decided to actually make one. You can add whatever you want to it, well not anything too lame. It'll be fun, we're going to have so many adventures this summer! And, check this out, my great uncle from Florida sent me a grand just for graduating," Her eyes lit up as she pulled a check from her jean shorts pocket, "If we use it wisely it should last through the summer, right? Plus, I'm sure more relatives will send money. You'll probably get a whole load of cash."

"That's awesome." Carly said weakly, trying to match Sam's enthusiasm.

"I know you think I should save it to spend on college stuff, but I'll figure that shit out later." Sam shrugged, trying to ease what she thought was concern on her friend's face. Carly simply nodded in response, her eyes glued to a speck of mud on the top of Sam's red converse. "Wanna read the list? Actually, I'll just read it to you so I can explain. Ok, go to a concert, pretty self explanatory. Skinny dip, something everyone should do once and we can go at night so no one will see us. Calm down, your face is already turning red. Go to a party, like a real party; out in the woods, hidden location, booze-fest party. We have to prepare for college and I already got the list of summer parties from Rodney, so we're set. Rock climb, go camping, steal a street sign, water park, road trip… Want to add anything so far?"

"Um…" Carly bit her lip and forced herself to make eye contact, "We need to talk, Sam. Can you… sit down?"

"Okay?" Sam's face contorted to confusion as she plopped down across the couch from Carly, "What has your panties in a bunch?" Typical Sam, Carly thought, always trying to avoid things by making the air light. Spite her attempts to hid it, Carly could tell that Sam was nervous for what she had to talk to her about. Carly's insides flipped over once and the knot of guilt and worry burrowed further inside her.

The room grew quiet, uncomfortably so. It wasn't a familiar feeling for either of them, conversation had always come easy and the silences in-between had always been easy.

"My dad called last night." Carly's voice was like a bullet penetrating the air. "Its been a really long time since he's even been able to call. It was nice to hear his voice, you know?"

"Not really." Her voice had come out almost as a snort and she offered a weak smile afterwards as a way to apologize for her bitterness, "That's great, will he be able to visit this summer?"

"Um…" Carly took a deep breath, "Not exactly."

"Is that why you're acting all weird? I'm sure Freddie could wire something up for you to video chat with him again. It wasn't that hard last time, from what I could tell. Plus, you know how much Freddie likes being the hero, want me to go pound on his door so you can ask him?"

"No, Sam. Just listen… My dad isn't coming to visit, because… well, because… I'm going to stay with him for the summer." The sentence fell out of Carly's mouth and seemed to linger in the air for a moment before it actually hit Sam's ears. Even then it took a few seconds, what felt like several minutes to anxious Carly, for the words to sink in and punch Sam in the gut.

"He's… You're…" Sam's fingers were working hard at a loose string on the seem of the Shay's couch, her mind reeling, "So… you won't be here for the summer? At all?"

"I leave tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning? You weren't going to give me any heads up at all?"

"But I'll be back two weeks before college starts." Carly offered, her voice pleading.

"So we'll have two weeks to do this entire summer bucket list and then you're off to New York?"

"I'm sorry, Sam, I just… This is probably the last chance I'll get to stay with my dad for a significant amount of time and just be… a kid, you know?"

"Yeah, I know…" Sam lifted her eyes from the loose thread on the couch and met her friend's eyes. She realized how huge this was for Carly. She realized she was being dramatic and selfish but that was just it. This would be their last chance to be just kids. "Listen, you don't need to feel bad about this. Go, be with your dad. There's always next summer or the summer after that. This summer might be the end of our childhood but its not the end of our friendship." Sam offered up a crooked smile, even though she still felt a little sick and wasn't so confident in her words.

"Thanks, Sam." Carly smiled, even though they both knew the she hadn't offered up anything extraordinary. Just her acceptance, and that was all Carly really needed. It had been years since she'd lived with her dad. She loved Spencer and wouldn't trade the years she got with him for the world, but still, she missed her dad and felt the void of being a parentless child. It would be nice to be a daddy's girl again. Sam needed some bucket list to help her validate leaving behind her childhood and growing up, but what Carly needed was one last summer with her dad.

* * *

Carly had been a lot less nervous when she told Freddie. He was always accepting and understanding, and she knew he depended on her a lot less than Sam did. Their friendship was complex and the way she viewed Freddie had drastically changed over the years. At first he was nothing more than her creepy neighbor, then he was a friend, then he was a friend with an uncomfortable crush on her-she was so glad that was over-and now he was one of her closest friends, like family.

"How'd Sam take the news?" He asked before taking a long sip from his water bottle. At first Freddie had been shocked, he hadn't had any real high expectations for the summer but he'd heard Sam and Carly talk and was looking forward to tagging along on whatever adventures they had planned and helping Carly get Sam out of any trouble, which could only be expected.

"She was baffled at first, seemed angry for a split second and that said it was fine. You know Sam, she's not very good at expressing her feelings." Carly huffed, setting a box down across the move. They were cleaning out the studio, taking the stuff they wanted, leaving the things they though should stay and donating the rest.

"Yep, I'm aware." Freddie rolled his eyes as he stuffed some wires into the box of stuff he was taking.

"I feel bad, though. She had all these plans for us, even made us that bucket list."

"Bucket list?"

"Yeah, remember how we were joking about a summer bucket list?" Freddie nodded once, he vaguely recalled the girls joking about something along those lines on the way home from the last day of school. "Well, she actually made it." Freddie made a surprised face, Sam was always the instigator of trouble but rarely was she one to coordinate and plan things for them to do. "It would actually be fun. I mean, at least the legal stuff."

Freddie didn't respond, just grabbed a heavy box marked 'giveaway' and moved it over towards the elevator. The subject of Sam was a touchy topic for Freddie ever since their breakup, even though it was over a year ago. He hadn't admitted it out loud but Carly suspected there was still some unresolved feelings floating through that thick heart of his. She had sat back and watched the hurricane that was Sam and Freddie's relationship and she was still left in the wake of it, still on damage control, still cleaning up the pieces and hoping to not say the wrong thing.

For a split second things went back to normal. But then they'd be mean to each other, just a little comment like before. Only now it wasn't like before, they each took offense to what the other said. It got even worse once they started dating other people. Neither had had a substantial relationship or been on more than a few dates with anyone, but it still bothered them, even bothered Carly, and seemed to make things more messy and complicated than ever before.

"Freddie?" he let out a sigh and took a seat on a bean bag chair facing Carly leaning against the hood of the car. "I know things are kind of…difficult…between you and Sam lately, but do you think you can keep an eye on her this summer?"

"Carls, are you asking me to babysit our fully grown friend?" They left for a second and then Freddie's face got serious, "I'll make sure she stays out of trouble, or I'll at least get her out of whatever trouble she gets into." Freddie acted bitter about Sam at times, but in truth he wouldn't mind spending the summer with just her. He knew it was a long shot and probably the last thing she wanted to do was spend her summer looking computers with him.

He was just afraid of losing her more than he already had.

* * *

"Alright kiddos, finish up your goodbyes we need to be at the airport… 10 minutes ago." Spencer grabbed Carly's suitcase and set it on top of his. He had decided to go with and stay for a few weeks. It had been a long time since he'd seen his dad and maybe it'd be a good time to break it to him that he wasn't in law school. The date that he was supposed to have graduated had come and pass and now that the threat of having Carly taken away from him was removed he was a bit more comfortable with the idea of telling his dad.

"Okay… goodbye guys." Carly offered a solemn look to her friends. They had taken care of the majority of their goodbyes the night before. Reminiscing on all their memories, making plans for when Carly returned, pigging out (that was mostly Sam), and promising that this wasn't the end of their friendship. She outstretched her arms and Sam and Freddie somehow found their way into them. A group hug. So many behind them and so many yet to come. It wasn't the end, they all kept repeating to themselves.

"Bye, Carls." Sam and Freddie said in unison, earning Freddie a punch in the bicep.

"See you in a few weeks." Spencer gave them each a quick hug and then placed a set of keys in the palm of Sam's hand. "Watch over… the plants." His eyes were piercing hers, letting her know she was welcome to stay in the apartment while he was away.

"You have plants?" Freddie asked, his eyes jumping around the living room. Sam was secretive about the troubles she had at home but Carly and Spencer both knew she was on the outs with her mom and Pam had threatened to throw her stuff to the curb the day after graduation.

"Oh, wait!" Carly turned around abruptly, nearly knocking Spencer over, "I revised your bucket list."

"You what?" Sam crinkled her eyebrows and reached in her pocket for the list that had been securely tucked away there for the past 24 hours. It was gone.

"Don't worry, I didn't take anything off. I just added a few things." Carly smiled and slid the piece of paper back into Sam's pocket, "Have a nice summer, Sam. See you in a few months."

They exchanged one last hug and the Shay siblings were gone, off to race to the Seattle airport and catch a flight to Japan.

* * *

"So?" Freddie said into the silence that had taken over the apartment the moment Carly and Spencer had left. The days of comfortable silence between Sam and Freddie were long gone.

"So what?" Sam spat, throwing herself onto the couch in mock boredom. Being around Freddie was tricky to her, half the time she wanted to get away from him-because he made her feel funny-and the other half of the time she couldn't get enough of him.

"What are you doing with the rest of your day?" Freddie asked, shrugging off her venomous tone as he took a seat at the end of the couch. She slowly lifted her head and looked up at him in a challenging way. Everything was always such a contest with her, he quit trying to understand that part of her a long time ago.

"What does it look like?" She grabbed the remote and turned the TV on, locking her eyes onto the screen as the credits for a reality show begin to roll. Freddie nodded his head in response, not taking his eyes off of her as she scanned through the channels, "What?" The word came out sharp and he couldn't help but flinch a little.

"Don't you have a summer bucket list?" He crossed his foot over his knee and turned toward her.

"Your point?" She asked sitting up, clearly a little interested as to why Freddie would be bringing up her bucket list.

"Wouldn't you rather be crossing something off your list than sitting here watching TV?" He reached forward in a vein attempt at snatching the remote from her grip.

"What exactly are you getting at?"

"Look," He took a deep breath and slowly released it, "I know we've had a… rocky year… but I was thinking…I mean, we're friends, right?" She thought for a few seconds and then slowly nodded her head, "So, we should…"

"Spit it out, Benson."

"I want to do the bucket list with you. I know I'm probably not your ideal companion for the summer but—"

"Okay." She cut him off with one word and a small shrug.

"Okay?" He asked, amazed that it didn't take more convincing to get Sam Puckett to let him in on her bucket list. He was beyond surprised that she hadn't laughed in his face and called too boring to participate.

"Yeah, why not?" She would never tell him but she couldn't think of one single reason to not spend her summer with him. He was no Carly, but he would still be a great companion for her bucket list. He would keep her out of trouble, and she would get him into some. Plus, they always had fun together (just as long as they weren't at each other's throat, but honestly even that was at least a little fun).

"Then… should we get started?"

* * *

**And there's chapter one, I'll try to update it sometime this upcoming week. Hopefully the new episode tomorrow will offer me inspiration! If you didn't notice yet, there is a whole load of amazing authors participating in a mass posting today to jumpstart the fandom and liven us all up a bit (its been slow moving for a few months) So, make sure to check those out. **

**If you don't already, you can follow me on twitter {at} annierocket5 I'll be retweeting iCarly stories all night!**

**I can't wait to hear what you all think of this so make sure to review and let me know (but, you know, only if you want) ;)**

**XO**

**Annie**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Happy Halloween! First of all, thank you so much for the review! They really do mean so much to me and inspire to keep on writing. Second of all (is that a thing?), Sorry about the wait, you know how life tends to get in the way of things sometimes. **

**Remember the episode (I believe it was iStakeout) where Freddie loses a bet about the meaning of MPEG to Sam and has to get a tattoo of Sam's face on his arm, but then it turns out to just be a fake tattoo? Where Sam's cousin the tattoo artist just so happens to be named Annie? Keep that in mind as you read this chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except an overpriced laptop and a head full of lame jokes.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

"No, no way." Freddie crossed his arms and shook his head hard, planting his feet and eyes firmly on the ground. He could feel Sam's eyes burning a hole in the top of his head. This was too much, way too far. Not at all what he signed up for, there was no way in hell that Freddie was going to-

"Fine, then you're out." She snapped and started to walk away, leaving him standing like a coward on the sidewalk outside the shop.

"Sam," He grunted and waited for her to turn around and walk back, "Thats not fair."

"No, Benson, you're breaking the deal. On the way here you swore that you would do everything on the list. If you can't hold that promise, then you're out." She gave him a fierce look and waited for a response-knowing the whole time, or at least strongly hoping-that he would give in.

"Its not fair if I don't even get to know what's on the list." In hindsight agreeing to her terms was a mistake. He knew something like this would happen, he was just too caught up in the idea of a spontaneous summer spent with Sam to really care. "And I most definitely didn't know getting a tattoo was going to be part of this."

"Come. On. Freddie." Sam said in an exasperated tone, "It's just a tattoo, you can hide it." He gave her a blank look, she couldn't tell if he was considering or refusing, "What? Are you still afraid of your psycho mother, or just pain in general?"

"Hey! I went through all the pain of a tattoo once before, if you don't recall." He had almost forgotten about the time he had had to get a tattoo of Sam's face on his arm after losing a bet. "And I've dealt with you slapping me around all these years, haven't I?" he enunciated slapping in a way that made Sam want to burst into a fit of laughter, but considering the circumstance she held back.

"So are you saying you'll do it?" She asked, getting a little hopeful and completely missing the point of what he had just said.

"Do I get to see the list?" He countered. She pursed her lips together for a several seconds, seeming to consider. Finally she let out a long breath and looked from her feet to his face until they made eye contact.

"I'll make you a deal," she gave him a look that made his insides churn in a way that he couldn't tell was good or bad. Part of him knew that if he didn't get to spend this summer with Sam, he would lose her forever. It wasn't as if he wanted her back in a romantic sense, or maybe it was. His feelings were so muddled in his brain lately, especially in her presence, that he wasn't sure what it was he was after this summer; to regain a friendship with her or was there more? "You get a tattoo, prove to me that you're for in for the summer, for everything on this list, and you can see the list for yourself, all of it. Maybe... maybe I'll even let you add something, maybe." She bit her bottom lip and he uncrossed his arms.

"I..." Freddie shook his head and looked to the street. He wanted this summer with her so badly, he wanted to do this list. Being with Sam made him feel like a different person, not in a bad way just that she made him want to do things he never thought he would want to. He wanted to have fun, to be fun. To live the way she lived; with reckless abandon.

But, he couldn't quite jump the strict moral cage his brain lived in. Right and wrong was always black and white to him, no gray areas. It was hard to break the mold. A tattoo... That was something he had never planned on getting willingly. His mother frowned upon any sort of body alteration and he himself had always found them to be cheap.

"Okay, listen," Sam took a step forward, and is if she had been reading his mind said, "I know you're freaking out right now, but I promise you won't regret it, okay? Just... trust me." They looked in the eye and she wondered if he trusted her at all, "Not that I'm that trustable or anything, just... What is the last spontaneous thing you did, Freddie? The last time you just acted on impulse instead of rationalizing in that big head of your's for hours?" He smiled up at her, a memory flashing through his mind, wondering if she had any idea that the last time he did something without thinking it involved her, "Did you regret it?"

"No." He felt himself blushing at how quickly he responded, and couldn't help but wonder if Sam knew what he was thinking about.

"Okay, so?" He could tell she was getting impatient and it was only a matter of time before she threw her hands in the air and stomped away to her summer of adventures without him. Biting down on his lip, he let out a strained sound and shook his head.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." A smile stretched across her face and he knew there was no way, at least not in this moment, that he would regret his decision.

* * *

"We don't do walk-ins. This is a tattoo parlor, not a barbershop." A heavily tattooed girl said, chomping down on her lip peircing as she gave them a disapproving look, "And you're going to need some i.d."

"We're well aware of all of the above, honey." Sam said in a sarcastic tone, leaning forward onto the desk, "I'm here to see Annie. You can tell her Sam is here, and remind her that she owes me. Big time." The girl looked like she wanted to challenge Sam further but let out a huffy breath and stopped through a curtain to a room in the back.

"This is the same Annie who gave me that fake tattoo?" Freddie asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Yep," she smiled, "This time it'll be the real deal, though. Promise."

"Great." Before Sam could respond her cousin Annie walked into the room, Freddie recognized her right away, not that she was exactly the kind of person you forgot. She looked the same as she had the day she tattooed Sam's face onto Freddie's arms several years prior. Her hair was still dark, carelessly tossed into a bun on the top of her head. The only difference was the new dragon tattoo that covered her collar and continued down her chest.

"Sammy!" Annie said in a voice that didn't quite register excitement- but Freddie guess that was as close as it came with her- embracing her cousin with a small hug, "I was starting to think you chickened out, I've had it drawn up for months."

"I was just waiting until after graduation. Didn't wanna risk setting Pam off, you know how she is about me being like him at all." She looked over at Freddie and then quickly back to her cousin, she had forgotten he was there for a second, "Anyways, let me see it."

Annie mumbled something under her breath and led them down a corridor into her tattooing room. She turned towards the desk set up in the corner of the room and began ransacking through the chaotic mess, it was littered in sketches, what appeared to be paperwork, magazines, and empty bottles of ink. Her facial expression changed slightly as she picked up a single piece of tattered paper and handed it to Sam, who eagerly grabbed it and closely observed it. Freddie tried hard to see what it was but the angle she was holding it prevented him.

"So?" Annie asked, Sam nodded in response showing her approval, "What's with him?" she looked him up and down, seeming to notice his presence for the first time. Freddie looked at Sam, only semi-surprised by Annie's brashness, afterall she was Sam's cousin.

"He wants one, too." Sam looked gave him a small smile.

"I don't have time to do both of you today, maybe if you had called and made an appointment like a normal person... But there's no way I can fit him in."

Freddie's jaw clenched as he tried not to let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't that he was scared, he was just uncomfortable. That was why- along with the fact that he would get to spend the summer with Sam- he had wanted to do this so bad. All of his life he had done what was expected of him, what was comfortable. He was ready to really push himself, to walk outside of the lines he had trapped himself in the last eighteen years.

"Well you're going to have to figure something out because I'm not leaving until there's a tattoo on this boy's body." The two girls had a stare off, seeming to communicate only with their eyes until Annie let out a defeated sigh and walked out of the room, making the beaded curtains swish loudly as she shoved them out of her way.

The silence that engulfed the room had a slightly awkward vibe to it, and Freddie found himself clearing his throat and taking quick glances at Sam who was closely inspecting the piece of paper Annie had given her. It was one of those moments that had been striking Freddie out of know where since the breakup where he couldn't remember what was socially acceptable and what wasn't. Would it be wrong to wrap his arm around her, to kiss her cheek and ask what was so important about the paper clutched tightly between her small hands, seeming so bright against her dark blue nail polish?

"What, um," he looked down at the paper, "What is that?"

"It's my tattoo." She brushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear and turned so she was facing him. Her beauty was subtle and natural, the kind that drew people in at first glance. That was what had always drawn him to her, how easy she made being beautiful seem. She had unknowingly set such a high bar for every other girl that he doubted he'd ever meet anyone he would think was more beautiful. "Wanna see?"

"Can I?" He asked in disbelief, watching in wonder as she nodded and held the paper forward. He wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting, this was Sam after all, it could have been anything. A snake? A fat-cake? Bacon? "Wow." He let out a breath, surprised to see a bird in flight, shaded in with different shades of blue, soaring across the page. 'Free' was etched underneath the wings in sloppy cursive. It wasn't exactly something he would pick out, but he couldn't deny how perfect it was. Perfect for Sam in the most nonobvious ways. "It's you."

"Yeah?" She chuckled under her breath and snatched the paper back, eyeing it once again herself before setting it on a small table and flipping through the tattoo portfolio hanging on the wall behind them. "What are you going to get?"

"I don't know, I never really pictured myself getting a tattoo. This is so spontaneous." He smiled and shook his head, "I don't even know where to get it." There was a fire in his eyes that Sam had never seen before, not even when they were dating. He looked so alive, so excited. Although the words would probably never it make the journey from her head to her mouth, she was glad he wanted to be a part of her summer adventure.

"Well," She threw him a crooked smile, "You could always go for my face on your bicep again." Her gaze wandered down to his arm, mentally noting how much his arms had beefed up since that time. "Actually," She reached out and grabbed his arm, running a finger on the inside of his bicep, "This would be the perfect spot for you." Chills ran through his body, surprised at her sudden touch and close proximity to his armpit.

"Yeah." He nodded in agreement, looking at the area of his arm she had just touched. "It would be easily hidden."

"Or on your side." She offered with a shrug. He braced himself for her to show him with her hands again, but they remained at her side. Just as she was about to say something else, Annie burst back into the room, another tattoo artist close behind her.

"This is Greg, he'll take care of your friend." She pointed back to the man, who nodded at Freddie in response. The guy couldn't be more than 5'5, his whole body was decorated in tattoos-including his bald head, his auburn beard was so long that it grazed the top of his round belly. He wasn't exactly the kind of guy Freddie was used to being around, but he had learned long ago from Sam not to judge people based on their exteriors. Plus, there was something warm in Greg's eyes that put him at ease as he took one last glance at Sam and followed Greg into the next room.

* * *

Greg's space was a lot less chaotic than Annie's. Where hers was cluttered in personal items and could really benefit from a good dusting, Greg's was neat, professional, and smelt like a cleaning product his mom used. The floor was black and white checkered, a small desk with a computer in the corner and a long leather chair in the middle.

"You got an i.d., kid?" Greg asked, gesturing for Freddie to sit on the long leather chair and then pulling a short stool down next to him. Freddie nodded once and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. The confidence he had worked up when talking to Sam was slowly fading and in its place was a fluttering, nervous feeling in the bottom of his stomach. "Okay, I just need you to fill this out, sign and date the bottom and you'll be good to go."

"Great." Freddie offered a weak smile and accepted the paper with an unsteady hand. As he filled it out Greg asked him about his tattoo, the moment he asked had been the moment Freddie decided what it would be-which he supposed was his first step to giving into adventure and spontaneity. He signed his name at the bottom of the paper, accepting any liabilities and then watched as Greg printed his tattoo onto special paper and prepared the ink and needle.

"Where we putting this?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at Freddie who was noticeably trying to hide the nervous quiver disrupting his whole body.

"Here." He held up his arm and pointed to the place Sam had recommended. She was right, it did seem like the perfect place, it was discreet but not completely hidden. "How long have you been doing this?" He asked, taking his shirt off as Greg had instructed and holding his arm straight out, resting his hand under his head.

"Sixteen years this fall, can you believe it? First tattoo was a mermaid on my friend Danny's arm when we were drunk one night." He laughed at Freddie's shocked expression, "Don't worry kid, I've gotten much better since then." He tested the gun, a low buzz filling the room before he shut if off and filled it with black ink.

"And Annie?" Greg looked up in confusion, "She's... good at this, too?"

A smile spread across Greg's lips and he let out a laugh as he shook his head, "Yeah, Annie's a pro. Don't worry about your girl, she's in good hands."

"Sam's not... _my girl_."

"Yeah, okay," Greg said sarcastically, ripping open an antiseptic wipe and wiping down the underside of Freddie's bicep, "Ready?" it was now or never.

"Go for it." He tried to put off a confident front, like this was no big deal to him. But inside he was freaking out, would this hurt? What if he had a weird reaction? Suddenly he cared what his mom would think, she was going to kill him. "It'll... It'll be okay, right?" He wasn't sure what he was referring to, or why he was seeking comfort from his tattoo artist. It just seemed like the right thing to ask in that moment.

"Yeah, kid, it'll be okay." Greg gave him a warm smile, pulled the tracing paper off Freddie's arm and pushed the tattoo gun to his skin for the first time.

* * *

Sam didn't know what she had expected it to feel like, but not this. At first it had stung a little, sort of like a bee sting. It was an unfamiliar kind of pain, like nothing she'd felt before. After a few minutes all feeling subsided and the area seemed to go numb, succumbing to the vibrating needle making its permanent mark on her body.

"Stay still, any movement you make is going to translate onto your tattoo." Annie warned, taking a break to wipe off the excess ink from Sam's side. She had decided to get it on her right rib cage, just below her chest. She was proud of the tattoo, but it wasn't something for the whole word to see. It was for her, and whoever she chose to get close with. It wasn't big at all-the bird's wings spanned just over two inches- and that was exactly how she had wanted it.

Growing up she had been constantly surrounded in people covered in tattoos. But their tattoos were for show, for other people. This was different, this meant something to her.

For the first time in Sam's life she was free. Free from her mother, free from her past. High school was over and she was granted a clean slate, a fresh start to do and be whoever she chose. Never again would she be defined by her family or held back by her mother's poor choices. This was her time.

Sam was free.

"In or out." Annie's sharp voice shook Sam from her thoughts and she looked up to see a stunned Freddie standing in the doorway.

"Sorry I can..." He looked at his feet and threw his thumb over his shoulder, "I'll wait out here."

"No, it's fine." Sam pointed to the chair next to her and motioned for him to sit, ignoring Annie's eyeroll as she backed away with the tattoo gun. Sam didn't seem to care that seeing her like that, with her shirt hiked up past her bra, made him more than nervous. "Stay, it's not a big deal. Just like a swimsuit." He nodded once and tried to keep his thoughts focused on the now and not the one time he had seen her in even less...

"Stay still." Annie warned again before leaning back down and filling in the hues of blue on the flying bird.

"You didn't back out, did you?" She eyed him up and down, trying to locate his tattoo. He gave her his famous crooked smile and chuckled under his breath.

"Of course not." He rolled up the left sleeve of his t-shirt and revealed his bicep wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. She tried to make out what was underneath but couldn't tell anything aside from that it was black and appeared to just be writing.

"What is it?" She motioned for him to come closer as Annie wiped her tattoo down again, smearing royal blue ink down her side.

"I'm done, what do you think?" Annie said abruptly causing both of them to jump, she seemed not to even notice she was interrupting as she held a small mirror up for Sam to look into.

"Wow." She sat up and leaned closer to the mirror, giving it a small poke just to see how it would feel, "It's exactly what I imagined. Thank you so much, Annie!" Freddie watched in shock as Sam threw her arms around her cousin and pulled her in for a tight embrace, it seemed so out of character.

"It'll cost ya." Annie said as they pulled apart. "Now listen, I know you aren't exactly the most responsible person in the world but it's important that you take care of this or it won't heal properly and then you'll run into all sorts of issues, got it? That goes for you too, pretty boy." She glanced over at Freddie as she rubbed a clear gel onto Sam's fresh tattoo. "I'm going to put this ointment on and then wrap it in plastic wrap. When you get home you'll want to take the wrap off and let it breath, probably wanna dab a little more ointment on it, too..." Freddie watched as Sam zoned out to Annie's lecture about the proper care of a tattoo, how it would itch, scab, heal. How much was too little or too much ointment...

Sam was, as her tattoo clearly stated, free. She had what she wanted and everything that was being instructed to her now was merely rules that she may or may not follow.

"You gonna take care of her, brown eyes?" Annie jabbed Freddie in the shoulder, and he nodded slowly, "We both know Sammy here hasn't listened to a word I said so it's up to you to make sure she takes care of it. I'm telling you, Sam, it'll end up looking like one of Pam's if you aren't careful." They all three shuddered at the statement.

"Yeah, yeah. We got it." Sam rolled her eyes in annoyance and accepted the packets of ointment Annie handed them, even though she was pretty sure the same vitamin enriched cream could be found in the Benson's medicine cabinet.

"Alright, I have to go call the client I ditched for you and beg them to come back another time." She nudged Sam lightly in the shoulder and escaped through the curtain door once again, "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Uh huh." Sam gave Freddie a look and waited for Annie to be out of earshot, "Okay, let me see it." She stood up and grabbed Freddie's arm, looking for the end to the plastic wrap around his arm.

"Sam, we're supposed to leave them wrapped until we get home." He tried to pull himself out of her grip, but it was too late. She already had his arm halfway unwrapped and he supposed it was too late to really care.

"Huh." Escaped her lips and she looked from his inner bicep to him in confusion, "_In time_." she read aloud and traced her index finger each letter, sticking up like braille like new tattoos tend to do. Freddie suddenly felt self conscious about himself, about the tattoo. She would think he was lame, any second now she'd make some joke and he'd feel two feet tall and want to dissolve into the floor. Not that it really mattered, he was more satisfied with the tattoo than he thought he would be, in fact he was proud to have something that meant so much to him permanently etched into his flesh. It was just that, as much as he didn't want to, he valued Sam's opinion. He really wanted her to like it.

"It was something my dad used to always say." Freddie explained, watching her study the tattoo. It was written down his arm, so that if he held out his arm and turned it to see the underside of his bicep he would be able to read it. The font was simple, legible and classic. "It was like his catchphrase. _'In time _you'll learn to ride your bike. _In time_ you'll figure out that camera. In time you'll... make some sense of life without a father. _In time_ everything will work itself out, it always does.'"

A look of sadness flashed across Freddie's face as his eyes clouded with memories. It wasn't often that he talked about his father, Sam herself had rarely ever heard mention of him. All she knew was that he had passed away when Freddie was in third grade, and-through Carly who had heard from Spencer who had heard from Mrs. Benson herself one night after one too many glasses of moscato-she knew that he had gotten really sick. That Freddie, at the tender age of eight, had watched his father slowly deteriorate and finally succumb to an illness.

That was the serious, damaged and hurt side of Freddie that Sam liked to pretend didn't exist. It was much easier to imagine him always living alone with his neurotic mother, then to imagine that at some point he had a father he adored and who in return adored him back. A father who left when he wasn't ready, who wanted nothing more than to watch his son grow.

Sam hated to think of Freddie ever having to go through anything like that, it didn't match up with the image she had in her head of Freddie. He was golden.

Yet, here he was with the evidence branded for life onto his arm. He was hurt. There was a part of him that would never be filled, could never be replaced. Somehow it seemed horrible to her that he had grown up without a father, even though Sam herself had no memories of her own father. Just a photograph from the day she was born and her mom's cursing of him.

"Freddie." Sam breathed, looking him in the eye and noticing how uncomfortable he seemed, "Your tattoo is amazing."

"Really?" He instantly perked up, tossing her a smile.

"Calm down, I said the tattoo is amazing, not you," She dropped her hand back down to her side and wiped the ointment from his tattoo on her jean shorts, "Wrap that thing back up and lets go get some smoothies so I can show you this list."

* * *

**a/n: Well, there you are. Kind of short but I wanted to get it up for you guys sooner rather than later. **

**What would you like to see them cross off the list in chapter three? Any list suggestions? Let me know, I love hearing what you guys think! **

**Trick or treat? Oh, you're out of virtual candy? You could leave me a review instead ;) **

**XO **

**Annie**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for all the reviews again you guys! So kind and the hugest inspiration for me to keep writing. This chapter is pretty short, but I'm really busy right now and have a lot of writing going on so I figured I would update what I have now rather than making you wait a week or however long more. **

**For those of you who read I And Love And You, I am not done with that story. In fact, I plan on sitting down and finishing the next chapter sometime this week- hopefully :/ **

**Shout-out to the posse, if not for these people I probably would've gone running for the hills a long time ago. I highly recommend reading their stuff, not only are they talented writers they are also super awesome people - ThatSamGirl, MelixGvardo, ExpressionsofAWriter, DwynArthur, and TheWrtrInMe. **

**Don't own anything. **

**Enjoy. (and again, sorry for how short this is)**

* * *

"I can't believe it." Freddie shook his head and handed Sam her smoothie, sitting down on the chair next to her, "I have a tattoo. Holy shit. What is my mom going to say?" Sam looked at him nervously, afraid this would be the point Freddie would back out. Any second now he would realize what a huge mistake he had made and storm out of the Groovy Smoothie, mad at her for talking him into it. She shouldn't have made him get the tattoo, now she was going to lose him forever. "This is insane," '_Here we go' _Sam thought, but to her surprise Freddie wasn't mad at all, instead he burst out laughing uncontrollably.

"Are you... okay?" Sam asked, narrowing her eyes at Freddie who was now doubled over, one hand gripping the table the other gripping his side as tears ran down his face and a laugh she had never heard bellowed out of him.

"Sam," He said in between laughs, gasping for air as he said her name, "Thank you."

"What is in this smoothie?" She tore the lid of his cup, sniffed it and then took a small sip, shrugging, "Seriously, Benson, calm down." She grabbed his forearm and pulled him so he was sitting straight up, "Take a deep breath." He did as she instructed, his face twitching as the held back more laughter before finally succumbing to it. This time it was only a few small chuckles and then he was gasping for air.

Once he was finally composed he looked her in the eye, a genuine smile across his face and he took a long sip of his smoothie before saying, "Thank you."

"For what?" She bit her bottom lip, trying hard not to smile back at him.

"Letting me be a part of this summer bucket list, for talking me into getting a tattoo. I feel... I don't know... I just feel alive... and really happy."

Sam shook her head at him and suppressed the urge to laugh in his face. He was acting like a lunatic, and as annoying as that was she was also intrigued. Seeing Freddie act without thinking was incredible. It wasn't as if she wanted Freddie to change, she loved how analytical he was. She loved that he cared what his mother thought, and was smart, and where she acted on impulse he reasoned and considered his options before acting. He deserved a summer devoted solely to fun, and that was what she planned to give him.

That was the thing about Sam and Freddie, they were so different yet they complimented each other so well. She showed him fun, showed him impulse and what it was to be free. He kept her grounded, out of trouble- or at least as much out of trouble as he possibly could- and somewhere along the way he had managed to make her believe it was okay to let her guard down sometimes. They taught each other balance.

But, they had given all that up when they broke up, and for the first time since then they were remembering what it was like to have each other- if not romantically than at least as friends. The truth was that they knew each other inside and out, better than anyone else. When they wanted to be they could be great friends. Slowly the past was fading and making way for a new start, for a new version of them. What once was would always remain, it was the foundation of the friendship they were building now, but it wouldn't define what they would become or the kind of friendship they could have.

"You aren't going to be like this all summer, are you?" Sam asked, "I mean the laughing I could get past but you're going to have to tone down the after school special a little bit, Danny Tanner."

"Alright." Freddie nodded, feeling dumb for being so blatant with his emotions. "but really, Sam-"

"Eh" She chirped, holding up her hand and shaking her head, "I got it."

"Ok, fine." He took a long sip of his smoothie, pretending to be really interested in the logo before looking back up at her, "So... Can I see the list now or are you going back on the deal?"

"A Puckett never breaks a deal, or... at least this Puckett doesn't," She reached into her back pocket and then slid the folded piece of paper across the table to him, "Here you go."

He slowly picked it up, nervous about what might be inside, treating it as if it were something sacred as he carefully unfolded it and held it out in front of his eyes. They both let out sharp breaths, as if it were more important than it actually was.

A smile spread across his face as he began to read it, "You've never been to the top of the space needle?" Sam shook her head, "Tattoo, I think we can cross that off." He gave her a crooked smirk that she couldn't help but return. "See the sun set and rise, you do realize seeing the sunrise requires you to be awake long before noon, right?"

"You do realize I plan on staying up until the sun rises, not waking up for it, right?" She said, mimicking his voice.

"Oh." Freddie shrugged, "How many things are on here anyways?" He began to count under his breath, "40. That's not so bad. How long do we have anyways?"

"My classes start in September. When do you leave?" It wasn't until then that she realized he would be moving at the end of the summer. She had been so caught up in worrying about what she would do without Carly, she hadn't even begun to think of what she would do without Freddie around.

"Move in day is August 22, but I think we'll be flying out a day early."

"Okay. When does Carly get back? When does she leave?" She was trying not to feel frantic, to just take things as they came and enjoy what time she had left as this; the now. The whole point of this summer was to live in the moment and quit worrying about what was going to happen this fall and how things would change as the next chapter of their lives began.

"Her move in day is the same as mine, I think, and I'm sure they'll head down a day early. She gets back the..." He pulled out his pearphone and looked at the calendar, "Eighth of August."

"So... I say we try and get as much done as we can before Carly gets back so we can just hang out once she gets home. How much time does that give us?"

"Roughly..." He did the math in his head real quick, "52 days."

"Ok. We can work with that." She shrugged and he nodded in agreement, "Anyways, as you can see Carly added some... lamer items to the list but I promised her I'd keep them."

"Yeah I figured 'make friendship bracelets' and 'carve initials into a tree' weren't your's." He smirked and read over the list again. "Or 'help each other pack for college', or 'tell a secret', or 'send something to Carly', or... this one." He pointed to number 27 and made a face as if it was the most disgusting thing in the world.

"Yeah, about that one... Can we agree to just... toss that one. We can just pretend it isn't there. You cool with that?"

"Yes. Yeah. That's the best idea. Besides, with all this to do we aren't going to have time to go out and meet people and date, much less fall in love." He laughed nervously and then cleared his throat.

"Right. Not really my top priority right now. So, that's off the list, just don't tell Carly."

"Deal. Ok." He started reading the list out loud again, "So, road trip, cliff jump, learn to drive- or for me, teach Sam to drive?" She rose her eyebrows at him in disbelief, she had thought she'd have to wait for Spencer to get back to teach her, "Concert, skinny dip?" he blushed at that, a rush of excitement and nerves already rushing through his body.

"Yeah, yeah. No need to read the whole thing out loud. I've already been over it." He nodded once, "You're still in, right?" She asked, fear setting back in that after reading things like cliff jump and skinny dip he'd back out, realizing her list was more than he bargained for.

"Of course." He smirked, refolding the list and handing it back to her, "Ready to go? I can give you a ride home if you want."

"That's okay, I think I'm just going to hang out at Carly and Spencer's tonight, you know... make sure the plants are doing okay." She pulled out her pearphone to see if her mom had tried to contact her at all, then shoved it back in her pocket not surprised to find that she hadn't.

"Right, yeah, that's a good idea." Freddie stumbled over his words. He was curious as to why Sam was staying there but knew better than to question it. If she wanted him to know he would. Besides, it wasn't too hard to guess that things probably weren't going so smooth with Pam. Since the breakup Sam had been secretive about her home life with him, but from what he could pick up on from what few hushed conversations between Carly and Sam or Spencer he had overheard, it seemed that things had only been going downhill since they had bailed Pam out in Vegas.

He couldn't imagine what that would be like, to have a mother that you would have to parent. People could say whatever they wanted about Sam; that she was irresponsible, lazy, and rude- and that was true most of the time. But Freddie saw that was only because the other half of the time was spent parenting her mother and fending for herself. Pam Puckett made him appreciate his bleech obsessed, hovering and smothering mother more than he was willing to admit.

They walked back over to the Bushwell together, talking about the weather for the upcoming week and what days they were available and what could they cross off the list next. It was mindless, peaceful chatter.

It wasn't until Sam was wiggling the key in the lock that Freddie turned to her with a serious expression, "Sam?" She turned around with question in her eyes, "Make sure you um... you know," he pointed to her side, "Unwrap it, let it breath and apply the ointment."

"Yeah." She let out a snort-laugh, "You too." Before disappearing inside.

* * *

**I decided I wasn't going to post the whole bucket list quite yet, that way its subject to change. Everything that has already been listed will be included, I might not do a whole chapter for each item but... now it's open in case I think of anything new to add or one of you guys thinks of something good (as always, I'm open to hearing your suggestions) **

**Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this short chapter. Let me know what you think.**

**Talk to you all soon  
XO  
Annie**


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